In the gleefully cartoonish Kingsman: The Secret Service, Taron Egerton gets to  live out every young lad’s fantasy, as his character goes from listless street tough  to dashing super-spy in less than two hours (with some help from Colin Firth’s spymaster). In real life, the 25-year-old Wales native gets to live out his own fantasy, after parlaying an early career that balanced theater with roles in British television into that of a budding movie star. We spoke with Egerton recently at the tail-end of grueling press tour about adjusting to the showbiz grind, acting alongside Firth, and what his friends think of his sudden success.

How are you?
I’m good—this is my last interview of what’s been a long and exhausting press tour. I’m quite relieved.

I’m honored. How are you enjoying New York City?
It’s so lovely. If I could live anywhere else in the world it would probably be here. The thing that strikes me about it I guess is the hustle and bustle. Everyone has so much personality here. It’s full of lots of rich characters. I’m not sure if I’ll ever live here but I absolutely relish the opportunity to do a play for a while or something.

Are you based out of London?
Well, London is where I spend the vast majority of my time for work but I don’t actually live there. I live in my hometown in Wales, which is about five hours from London.

Are you planning on sticking around your hometown for a while?
I think my intention is that when I’m working I’ll live in London, so I’ll need a place there as well,  but I’m not in a position to do that at the moment. I like being near family and I like to be near friends and I don’t think I’ve taken to this whole kind of crazy showbiz thing.

You got to work with Colin Firth for this film. What was your main takeaway?
Actually, he’s just a true professional, a real master of what he does. He’s great. He’s a good person to act with, and I think keeping engaged with one another is what makes a really good scene. And I wasn’t just working with him—I was obviously working with Matthew Vaughn, who’s incredible. But working with Colin is probably the heart of what I’ve loved most about the experience.

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